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Sisters Isabel and Ruth have been slaves their whole lives. Miss. Mary Finch, their owner, has just passed away. Miss. Finch promised Isabel they would be freed upon her death and even made it legal with a lawyer. But now that lawyer is gone and Miss. Finch’s son, Robert, wants to make a few bucks off them and sells them straight away. To make matters worse Ruth and Isabel are sold to a cruel loyalist family, the Locktons, who reside in New York, far from their home in Rhode Island.
It’s the middle of the revolutionary war and Isabel is determined to get her and her sister their freedom. After meeting a young slave, Cruzon, whose owner fights with the rebels Isabel thinks that she can trade information about Loyalists in return for her safe passage to freedom. Things don’t go as planned and as the war intensifies in New York, things go from bad to worse in the Lockton house, but Isabel is a survivor. If the rebels won’t help her maybe the British will. Chains, is an excellent and devastating piece of historical fiction, it illustrates the hardships of the war and the extreme cruelty of people, but also the determination of others. After reading the first in this series, you’ll want to delve into the rest.
Is it possible that Kimberly Brubaker Bradley could write a sequel to the The War that Saved My Life that would live up to the beloved Newbery Honor book?
A resounding YES! The author concludes this story beautifully, resolving the issues of the first book in the first few chapters before entering into the terrible challenges the war presents to Ada, her family, and friends. She grows to be a strong girl, one who can not only nurture herself, but lead others to healing and hope. Every step is hard won. Watching Ada learn to trust, like a fist slowly uncurling, is achingly beautiful. If you haven’t read The War that Saved My Life, run and get the book now — and know that you are in very good hands. Ms. Bradley is a master artist and I can’t wait to see what else she will create for us.
It’s the summer before her freshmen year in high school in 1965. Sophie is planning on writing, hanging out with friends and just having a good time, but life and the rest of the world starts to get in the way her plans. First, the reality of racism really starts to set in for Sophie as she continually encounters prejudice in her almost all-white community; from being uninvited to pool parties to being accused of stealing. Her parents aren’t much help because they’re busy with their own lives and trying to salvage their marriage. Luckily, her older sister has always has her back, but that will change at the end of the summer when her sister leaves for college. Suddenly life isn’t as clear cut as she thought it was and once a close friend is arrested for no reason Sophie finds herself questioning things even more. An excellent piece of historical fiction that rings very true in today’s world.
Evan’s father died with a yellow bound book in his hand. The yellow book contains the journal of a Japanese soldier, who was stranded on a small island in the Pacific during WWII. As Evan cracks the journal open he realizes that it was recovered by his estranged grandfather, a U.S. Marine and that the stranded Japanese soldier never made it off the island. Now this grandfather (Griff), who Evan’s never met, is coming to help put Evan’s father’s estate in order.
The arrival of his grandfather and the information contained in the yellow book send Evan down the rabbit’s hole. If his father hated Griff so much, why was he reading this journal? The night before he died Evan’s father said that Griff may have been a murderer. What did he mean? Did his father read something in the journal? Evan has to get to the truth and is seems like Griff is actively hiding something from him. The Emperor of Any Place blends Evan story and the story of the Japanese soldier seamlessly. The tension between Evan and his grandfather, Griff keeps the reader engaged the whole story. This is a great blend of historical fiction and realistic fiction.
My name is Chris Skoglund, and I am the librarian at Willard Elementary School in Evanston, where I have worked for almost thirteen years. I am an avid reader of books for both children and adults (which made picking only five books really difficult), so I consider myself to have the best job in the world!
An extraordinary mix of historical fiction and science fiction, this novel drew me in and would not let me go. Full of elegant imagery and characters that will linger in your mind long after the story is finished, each element worked seamlessly together.
My name is Eric Robb. I am a resident of Evanston and work as an associate teacher at Baker Demonstration School. Outside of my teaching duties, I volunteer for the Dare2tri Paratriathlon Club – an organization that supports triathletes with disabilities. My duties include fundraising as well as guiding and supporting athletes with a diverse array of disabilities toward their athletic goals. I spend what free time I have left playing either guitar, bass guitar, or piano.
This is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read, so much so that this was actually my second time reading through it. Toole’s main character, Ignatius Reilly, who considers himself a great misunderstood genius of his time, provides a perfect mixture of highbrow humor and slapstick comedy.
My name is Hilde Kaiser. I live in northwest Evanston where I am a Jill-of-all-trades: writer, lead parent, certified Nia instructor, student of earth medicine, knitter, film buff, and home baker, with a bundle of volunteer work thrown in (all in the domain of parenting, education, and personal development). My idea of heaven is reading a book at the Evanston lakefront with a little something to eat from Hewn bakery. As an avid reader (75 books so far this year) I am grateful for our area libraries and their superb programming (hey, how about Our Mutual Friend for Mission: Impossible?). My secret confession is that my favorite thing to read is “The Traffic Guy” column in The Round Table.
I’m not above choosing a book by its cover, and the lush, evocative, and eccentric portrait of its subject, Margaret Cavendish, convinced me to pick this novella up, knowing nothing about it. It’s so pretty. It’s one of my favorite books of the year because I’m still thinking about this poetic, experimental, slightly odd gem of a historical novel that deserves lots of readers. “Mad Madge” was a 17th-century proto-feminist who was one of the first women to publish under her own name and to earn a living by writing. She also dressed herself on her own terms – crowds assembled to see what she was wearing when she went out for walk. There’s a fab article in the New Yorker on the book as an example of “archival historical fiction” (as opposed to “realistic historical fiction”). Which is another way of warning you this book is anything but straightforward, but it is one-of-a-kind, like its subject. And the language is oh-so-pretty, like the cover.
The Soon To Be Famous Illinois Author Project recently announced the 2016 winner of its annual writing competition, and now your list of “must-read” books is officially one title longer. Choosing from the best self-published fiction Illinois writers have to offer, librarians throughout the state selected Geralyn Hesslau Magrady as this year’s winning author for her excellent historical novel Lines–. Set in 1870s-era Chicago and filled with incredible period detail, Magrady’s book explores the historical struggles for workers’ rights and gender equality while tracing the life of Livia Haas – a young German woman who experiences first love and terrible loss while surviving both the Great Fire and the Haymarket Affair. Though her summer is packed with statewide book readings and signings, Magrady recently paused to speak with us via email about her contest experience, her real-life inspiration for Livia Haas, research at the Berwyn Public Library, Emily Dickinson, and what she hopes readers will take away from Lines–.
My name is Rosie Roche. I have lived in Evanston for 8 years and have worked for the city and NU as an educator and teaching artist. I have 2 young boys who love the library and ask to visit at least once a week. I have never seen such an impressive public library and consider it a gem in Evanston’s crown in terms of inviting space, helpfulness of staff and breadth of collection.
Her mastery is to write short stories that are intriguing and compelling to read and – in a way that is hard to pinpoint – leave the reader unsettled and disturbed. I see images from the stories at the most unexpected times, many months after reading them. She is so cutting in her condemnation that I wince and laugh to read them.
If you’re a connoisseur of fine Scandinavian crime fiction, 2011 has given you plenty more to enjoy. Back in March, for instance, genre forefather Henning Mankell wrapped up his wildly-popular Kurt Wallander series with The Troubled Man, and a mere two months later rising star Jo Nesbo’s The Snowman finally hit U.S. shores. Now with Hollywood’s take on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo hitting theaters in just a few short days, crime fiction lovers are likely giddy with their good fortune. But what if you’re not a fan? What if you’ve yet to acquire that particular taste for dark Nordic mysteries? Well worry not, gentle reader, for there’s more than one dish cooking in Scandinavia’s literary kitchen. Truth be told, the Scandinavian lit scene is a veritable smorgasbord of top-notch sci-fi, satire, historical and literary fiction, horror, and more. So don’t delay in sampling Scandinavia’s full fiction menu. The following list will get you started, but there is still plenty more to discover.
My name is Eric Robb. I am a resident of Evanston and work as an associate teacher at 
My name is Hilde Kaiser. I live in northwest Evanston where I am a Jill-of-all-trades: writer, lead parent, certified Nia instructor, student of earth medicine, knitter, film buff, and home baker, with a bundle of volunteer work thrown in (all in the domain of parenting, education, and personal development). My idea of heaven is reading a book at the Evanston lakefront with a little something to eat from 
My name is Rosie Roche. I have lived in Evanston for 8 years and have worked for the city and NU as an educator and teaching artist. I have 2 young boys who love the library and ask to visit at least once a week. I have never seen such an impressive public library and consider it a gem in Evanston’s crown in terms of inviting space, helpfulness of staff and breadth of collection.
If you’re a connoisseur of fine Scandinavian crime fiction, 2011 has given you plenty more to enjoy. Back in March, for instance, genre forefather Henning Mankell wrapped up his wildly-popular Kurt Wallander series with